AEGIS
The Aerospace Expeditionary Group Intervention Service (AEGIS) is a shadowy organization attached to the US Government tasked with the investigation and control of extraterrestrial technology and occurrences and the protection of Earth from alien threats. Founded as a special unit of the United States Air Force, the scope of the organization quickly expanded to it gaining its own status as a separate service. Over the decades, the service has grown to be incredibly powerful through the collection and adaptation of advanced alien technology. Their black suited agents have entered the popular culture as the Men in Black. One of AEGIS's early missions was the collection, control and research of alien technology found across the planet. In its early days black ops into other nations to recover newly discovered alien tech were relatively common. Wormhole technology left behind by the Gods allowed AEGIS to investigate other planets in the immediate vicinity of Earth, which brought them into conflict with a malevolent faction of the Zetans known as the Greens with whom Earth entered into protracted hostilities. To combat this threat, AEGIS developed a series of powerful space cruisers. At some point AEGIS also made contact with SENTINEL and negotiated with the Watchers to give Earth status as a protected state of the All Union. This gave Earth significant diplomatic clout and served to shield it from even greater alien threats. When Earth came under attack by Drake and the Vampire Horde, they lost many of their resources, as well as their long held cover. Now with Earth forcibly brought into the interstellar community, AEGIS's role was greatly expanded. It became the official military of Earth's unified Republican Government, absorbing the militaries of many of the member nations and further expanding its resources. New, more advanced ships were built and AEGIS was able to openly dedicate itself to the protection of Earth and its allies. 'Structure' Having been born out of the US Air Force, AEGIS maintains a similar rank structure and overall organization. It is under command of the Director who reports directly to a government oversight committee. He oversees a handful of Generals who oversee terrestrial operations and space fleet operations. These generals in turn delegate control of various departments and sections to junior officers. Ranks and Uniforms As it was originally a branch of the USAF, AEGIS maintains a similar rank structure though certain names were adjusted. The utility dress of most agents is a black body suit with grey boots, gloves, utility belt and shoulder harness. The seal of AEGIS is visible on the left breast and right shoulder. Rank insignia is identical to those used by the Air Force, but are black and grey to match with the colors of the rest of the uniform. For enlisted personnel, their chevrons are displayed on their upper arms. For officers their insignia are worn on their collars. The director will traditionally wear a long black coat as well. Public dress for agents even in the "public" days of AEGIS consist of a black suit, trenchcoat and sunglasses. When dressed in this fashion they wear no outside rank insignia (though the name and rank of whoever they're looking at can be displayed on a HUD in the glasses), but they do carry badges. The purpose of their public dress uniform is to allow them to masquerade as FBI or other law enforcement agency personnel. Enlisted Ranks E1 - Agent Basic E2 - Agent First Class E3 - Agent First Class E4 - Senior Agent E5 - Staff Sergeant E6 - Technical Sergeant E7 - Master Sergeant E8 - Senior Master Sergeant E9 - Command Chief Master Sergeant Officer Ranks O1 - Second Lieutenant O2 - First Lieutenant O3 - Captain O4 - Major O5 - Lieutenant Colonel O6 - Colonel O7 - Brigadier General O8 - Major General O9 - Lieutenant General O10 - General O11 - Director The attack by the Vampire Horde unified the governments of the planet Earth into a single Republican government and AEGIS became its military arm. Its acronym was changed to became the Alliance Earth Guard Interstellar Service. After becoming a proper military force, the rank structure of AEGIS changed, encompassing both army and navy ranks to drive home its status as a combined arms force. Enlistedmen Junior Enlisted Ranks Guardsman Guardsman First Class Senior Guardsman Master Guardsman Senior Enlisted Ranks Sergeant Staff Sergeant Gunnery Sergeant Fleet Sergeant Sergeant Major Officers Junior Officer Ranks Ensign Lieutenant Major Senior Officer Ranks Lt. Commander Commander Captain Flag Officers Brigadier General (often referred to simply as "Brigadier") Lieutenant General General Director Divisions AEGIS is divided into a number of divisions, each purposed to specific tasks. Each division is under the command of a general. Investigations The largest division of AEGIS during the "Shadow Days", the Investigations division is made up of AEGIS agents who go out in the field to investigate supernatural occurrences. In order to blend in with the public they were civilian clothes which always take the form of black suits and sun glasses. It is these men who are the famous Men in Black of popular culture. If an agent decides that a situation they're investigating is about to escalate out of control, he or she is able to call in a combat team to contain it. After AEGIS "went legit" the Investigations division became AEGIS Intelligence and its operatives existed outside the normal rank structure. In general the black suited Agents are regarded as superior to normal AEGIS Enlisted Personnel but are usually subordinate to Officers. Combat Combat teams are comprised of highly trained soldiers skilled in fighting alien and supernatural threats. They are equipped with the best weapons mankind has and are skilled in the takedown of hostile aliens and monsters. During the "Shadow Days" the combat teams were outfitted as light infantry and were drawn from special forces members. After the rebranding, it was bolstered to become a proper army with all of its appropriate arms and sub-branches. Fleet Operations As its name implies this division deals with agents who are trained to operate aboard the Organization's space ships. The Fleet Arm was already structured according to standard navy regulations, so when AEGIS was rebranded it required far less adjustment than other branches. Facilities AEGIS maintains a number of bases throughout the world and beyond. Their primary base was called the Hive, which was an underground complex built into a mountain which protected it from all but the most powerful attacks. Area 51 was nominally held by them under cover of the Air Force, as well as several other test labs which were not as notorious. They maintained a facility on the moon, though this was temporarily lost to the Vampire Horde. Recruitment Admission into AEGIS is invitation only. Generally scouting agents would keep an eye for outstanding individuals and would call them in for testing. If they passed the testing they would be invited to join the organization. Following the public exposure of AEGIS, people could now apply to join, but the entrance exams were still remarkably difficult. Vehicles and Equipment Agent Kit Space Ships Protector Class: The first spacegoing vessels AEGIS created, largely from cannibalized alien technology recovered from the Greens. Ones not lost in battle with the greens were later phased out in favor of the newer Defender Class. Defender Class: A significant upgrade to the Protector Class, the Defender enjoyed significantly more powerful weapons, engines and shields. Thanks to technology provided by Earth's inclusion into the All Union the Defender Class were more than a match for the Green ships they faced. However, when the Horde attacked all but 2 of these vessels were destroyed. Avenger Class: 'The Avenger was a new vessel at the time of the Battle of Earth which boasted significant upgrades over the Defender. In the aftermath of that conflict, technology recovered from the Jehdan battleship Antioch was integrated into the Avenger which served as the model for the new Avenger Class. 'Trivia - AEGIS is named for the Aegis, the shield of Athena which bore the head of Medusa at its center and the Seal was designed to reflect this origin. The shield metaphor denoted the organization's mission to protect the general public from supernatural threats. - Their motto "Et In Umbra Igitur Pugnabimus" is Latin for "Then We Shall Fight In The Shade," a reference to the organizations commitment to protecting the Earth from the shadows. - Following the unification of Earth after the Horde Invasion, AEGIS became the military arm of the new Terran Republic. At this time it's official name changed to Alliance Earth Guard Interstellar Service. - Ernie Hammer is legendary among AEGIS Personnel because of his rise to the rank of Captain in SENTINEL. Very few know of his ultimate fate. - During the so-called "Shadow Days" before the Horde attack, a favorite assignment for AEGIS Agents was to approach conspiracy theorists pretending to be government whistle blowers and concoct elaborate stories to disseminate false information to the public. - After AEGIS came out of the shadows following Drake's attack, the organization has benefited extraordinarily from public interest. Despite this, many of the senior agents are wistful for the days when they still operated in secrecy. - Ray Duke had worked with AEGIS before and warned John about them. It is implied though that they didn't part on good terms as AEGIS had a standing "Do Not Approach" order in regards to Ray and everything involved with him. AEGIS in turn was aware of when John arrived on Earth, but because Ray was the one who found him they could never make a move on him. For this reason, AEGIS never discovered exactly what John was or where he had come from. After the events which lead to the death of Roy Duke and the fall of the Illuminati, John also was regarded as too dangerous to approach and was largely left alone by the organization.